Chapter 17
Physical Geography of North Africa, Southwest Asia
and Central Asia
1. The Land
 The vast region of North Africa, Southwest Asia and Central
Asia spans portions of Africa and Asia
 Early civilizations thrived here thousands of years ago in
fertile river valleys
 Today, ancient rivers such as the Nile remain vital to the
people of the region
Landforms
 In NA, SWA and CA, dramatic landforms can be found
 It is a region dominated by deserts and mountains
 Tectonic activity responsible for shaping the landscape in
many parts of NA, SWA and CA.
Earthquakes
 The African, Arabian, Anatolian and Eurasian plates come
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together in NA, SWA and CA
As the plates move they:
build mountains
shift landmasses
cause earthquakes
Tectonic activity built Atlas Mtns. of Morocco and Algeria,
the Zagros of southern Iran and the Taurus of Turkey
Earthquakes occur regularly in the region
In 1999, Turkey experienced an earthquake measuring 7.4 on
the Richter scale
Mountains
 Physical Map on p. 412
 Africa’s longest mountain range, the Atlas Mountains, extends
across Morocco and Algeria
 In Southwest Asia, two mountain ranges, the Hejaz and Asir,
stretch along the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula
 Precipitation received by the Asir region makes it the most
agriculturally productive on the Ariabian Peninsula
 Turkey possesses the Pontic Mountains and the Taurus mountains,
and in between the two sits the Anatolian Plateau (2000 to 5000 ft
above sea level)
Mountains
 Mount Ararat (almost 17000 ft), near Turkish/Iranian boder
 The Caucasus Mountains, located N of Mount Ararat between the
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Black Sea and Caspian Sea
West of Tian Shan range, the Turan Lowlands, made up by irrigated
farmland
To the south are dune-covered kums, or deserts
The Kara-Kum, or black sand desert, covers most of Turkmenistan
The Kyzl Kum, or red sand desert, blankets half of Uzbekistan
Coastal Plains, Seas and Peninsulas
 Regions agricultural base are the fertile plains along the
Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf
 To the E, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden separate Arabian
Peninsula from Africa
 The northwest, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aquaba flank
the Sinai Peninsula
Coastal Plains, Seas and Peninsulas
 To the N, the peninsula of Anatolia points west to the Aegean
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Sea
Black and Mediterranean Seas lie at the peninsula’s north and
south
Three landlocked bodies of salt water E of the Mediterranean
Sea:
Smallest – Dead Sea, near mouth of Jordan River
In CA, the Caspian Sea, largest inland body of water on Earth
East of the Caspian Sea is the Aral Sea, used to be fourth
largest inland sea before Soviet irrigation
Water Systems
 For thousand of years, people have depended on the region’s
rivers and fertile river valleys’ where early civilizations
thrived
 Rivers are the lifeblood of this region, which on the whole is
quite dry or arid
Major Rivers: Cradles of Civilization
 Egypt’s Nile River, world’s longest river at 4,160 miles long
 The Nile, provided one of the world's earliest civilizations
 Today, more than 90 percent of Egypt’s population live on
only 3 percent of Egypt's land, located along the Nile River
 The Aswan High Dam and others now control the river’s
flow
Major Rivers: Cradles of Civilization
 Early civilizations also thrived in the Tigris-Euphrates River
Valley, fertile farming valley in SWA
 Known by ancient peoples as Mesopotamia, Greek word for
‘land between two rivers’
 Today the Tigris and Euphrates help irrigate Turkey, Syria and
Iraq
 The Euphrates is the longer river of the two (2,335 m),
versus the Tigris (1,180m)
Streambeds
 Many streams in the region flow only intermittently
 In the region’s deserts, runoff from infrequent rainstorms
creates wadis, or streambeds that remain dry until a heavy
rain
 Rainstorms often produce flash flooding
 During a flash flood, wadis fill with so much sediment they
become mud flows, or moving masses of west soil, which are
dangerous to humans and animals
Natural Resources
 Some of NA, SWA and CA’s most abundant resources are
important to the world economy
 Include petroleum and natural gas
Oil and Natural Gas
 Over 60 percent of the world’s known oil reserves are
beneath this region
 About 50 percent of known natural gas reserves are here as
well
 Petroleum exports have enriched the region
 However, reliance on oil exports is risky, due to fluctuation
in oil prices
Minerals
 Turkmenistan, worlds’ largest deposits of sulfur
 largest deposits of sulfate, used in paperboard, glass and
detergents
 Morocco – a leading producer in phosphate, chemical used
in fertilizers
Building Diverse Economies
 Some countries are diversifying to reduce reliance on oil and
mineral exports
 United Arab Emirates is investing oil wealth in banking,
information technology and tourism
 Libya is investing in infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries
2. Climate and Vegetation
 Large expanses of North Africa, Southwest Asia and Central
Asia have an average annual rainfall of 10 inches or less
 As a result, much of the region arid, unfertile, desert
Water and Climate
 Lack of water affects climate, natural vegetation, and human
activities in these regions
 Water scarcity defines the region's climates
 Ancient cave paintings in North Africa, show us this part of
Africa was once wet and green
Desert Climate
 Scientific definition of desert: an area which averages 10 inches or
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less precipitation per year
Deserts make up almost 50 percent of North Africa, Southwest
Asia and Central Asia
Sahara Desert – largest desert in the world, 3.5 million square
miles, covers most of North Africa, expanded by recent droughts
Desert weather patterns tend to be extreme, with relatively cold
winters with freezing temperatures, and summers that are long
and hot
A traveler crossing any of the region's deserts would probably see
only a few Ergs, but man Regs
Ergs – sandy, dune covered area
Regs - stony plains covered with rocky gravel (desert pavement)
and hamada, a flat sandstone plateau
Desert Climate
 Sand covers less than 10 percent of the Sahara. Mountains,
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barren rock and desert pavement cover the rest
Rub’ al-Khali Desert – largest area of sand in the region,
250,000 square miles, covers almost the entire southern
quarter of the Arabian Peninsula
The Sahara and other deserts support some vegetation , such
as cacti and shrubs.
Small-scale farming is possible in an oasis, or place in the
desert where underground water surfaces.
Oases such as these are often the sites of villages, towns and
cities in the Sahara
Steppe Climate
 Steppe is the second largest climate region in the region
 Steppe borders the Sahara to the north and south
 Precipitation in this semi-arid climate region usually averages
less than 14 inches per year
 Supports short grasses, providing pasture for sheep, goats and
camels, as well as shrubs and some trees
 Pastoralism, the raising and grazing of livestock, is a way of life
for people who live in a steppe climate
Midlatititude Regions
 Countries within the region’s mid-latitudes benefit from
rainfall in the Mediterranean highland, and humid subtropical
climates
 Mediterranean climates have cool, rainy winters and hot, dry
summers
Exports and Tourists
 Morocco, Tunisia, Syria boost their economies by exporting
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citrus fruits, olives and grapes
Some Mediterranean countries benefit from tourism
Moroccan city of Agadir has 360 days of sunshine per year
Higher area, like the Caucasus Mountains, are generally
wetter and colder
Highland climate varies with elevation and exposure to wind
and sun
Rainfall
 Coastal and highland areas near mountain ranges usually
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receive the most rainfall
North African coast near the Atlas Mountains averages more
than 30 inches of rain/year
More than 60 inches of rain falls each year at the foot of the
Elburz Mountains in northern Iran
Batumi, in the Republic of Georgia, receives more than 100
inches of rain per year
In areas where more than 14 inches of rain falls yearly,
farmers can raise cereals, such as barley, oats and wheat,
without irrigation